الــشُّـكْــر والتَّـرْحِيب _ Welcome & Thanking

Let’s first look at an informal way to introduce yourself in Arabic.

Marḥaban, ʾanā Carole. Surirtu biliqāʾika.

Hi, I’m Carole. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

[slowly] Marḥaban, ʾanā Carole… Surirtu biliqāʾika.

Now you try it: Start by saying Marḥaban which is the equivalent of Hi. Then, say ʾanā (literally I am) followed by your name. ʾanā Carole is ‘I am Carole’. Finally, say ‘Nice to meet you’. If you are talking to a man, you say surirtu biliqā’ika. If you are talking to a woman, say surirtu biliqā’iki.

if you are talking to a woman. This phrase means “I am happy to meet you.” surirtu is literally “Iam glad” or ‘nice to`and biliqā’ika/biliqā’iki is “to meet you”. In the English phrase “Glad to meet you,” “you” is a neutral word. You can use it for both men and women. But in Arabic, the word “you” needs a gender. When you change the last letter in liqāʾika, “a” to an “i” sound, liqāʾiki, you are actually changing the word “you” from the male to female version. Please be careful to use the correct version!

Now let’s see another way of introducing yourself. In this version you will say ‘ Hi, my name is Carole’ instead of ‘Hi, I am Carole’. And we will learn another way of saying ‘nice to meet you’.Marḥaban, ʾismī Carole. Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatika. Hi, my name is Carole. I am honored to meet you. [slowly] Marḥaban, ʾismī Carole. Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatika. What has changed from the previous introduction? Let’s take a close look at these together.

First, marḥaban, ʾanā Carole has changed to Marḥaban, ʾismī Carole. So, instead of saying Hi, I’m Carole, we are speaking in a more formal way by saying Hi, my name is Carole. Next, after giving your name, instead of saying surirtu biliqā’ika you say Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatika or I am honored to meet you, which is a bit more formal. Again, we should not forget to change the ending of the word depending on the gender of the person you’re speaking to. It would be Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatika for a man and Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatiki in case of a woman.

One more time: here are the four ways you learned to introduce yourself in Arabic. Informally, marḥaban, ʾanā Carole..surirtu biliqā’ika. if you are speaking to a man. And, marḥaban, ʾanā Carole…surirtu biliqā’iki if you are speaking to a woman.

The formal way to introduce yourself is: Marḥaban, ʾismī Carole. Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatika if the person you’re talking to is a man, and Marḥaban, ʾismī Carole. Tašarraftu bimaʿrifatiki if that person is a woman.